Bit of a blogging bust-up over Tony Blair by two of his biographers, Francis Beckett (left) and the Independent's John Rentoul (right), following their appearance on BBC1's Sunday Morning Live.Beckett accused Rentoul of trying to censor the BBC by objecting to the way a presenter said Blair "had been dubbed" a war criminal and the phrase was picked up by another guest, Anne Atkins.Beckett asks on his blog: "What's wrong about the presenter saying it? I don't happen to think it's a proper description - like John, I think you devalue the phrase by using it of Blair. But it's manifestly true that he "has been dubbed" a war criminal, and by a reasonably number of people too."So I still think John was wrong to attack "the BBC" for "peddling" this line - if only because it sounds dangerously like those dark days when Blair and his henchmen stifled BBC reporting, and forced it to fire both the reporter and the director general for making a statement which everyone now knows to be true, but which was inconvenient for the government."Meanwhile, John Rentoul has hit back at Beckett on his blog, claiming of the guests on the programme: "Still trying to understand the socio-psychology of Blair rage, I took part (by webcam from home, which is a first) in the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live. The guests in the studio included Francis Beckett, who hates Tony Blair because he is not “Clement Attlee”, and Anne Atkins, a Conservative who called him a war criminal, presumably as an insult rather than because of the meaning of the words, but had to interrupt her own diatribe to praise his achievement in Northern Ireland."I put Clement Attlee in quotation marks because Beckett’s hero is not the actual Prime Minister who oversaw the creation of the welfare state, the adoption (in secret) of US nuclear weapons and the partition of India in which perhaps half a million died, but the figment of rose-tinted Labourist imagination who didn’t say very much and was very modest."I didn’t gain much insight there, but suggested that the BBC should reserve the term war criminal for people such as Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein who committed war crimes or attempted genocide rather than Blair, who stood against them."

Press Gazette reports that a third England footballer has obtained an injunction banning the reporting of allegations about his private life.The gagging order was granted on Saturday by on-duty High Court judge Justice Kenneth Parker. This is the third England player in two weeks to be granted an order preventing the media from publishing claims about their personal lives.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, writing in the Telegraph says that following the News of the World scoop on bet fixing that the game's administrators will have to act.He says: "It was a terrible day for cricket on Sunday but in a strange way it might be a good one because finally the game's administrators cannot run and hide."They have to face up to how deeply rooted in certain aspects of the game match-fixing can be because this is the first time we have seen real evidence of a fixer being caught on camera. He has indicated what will happen in a match and it has turned out to be true. It is the first time I remember there being real substance to the rumours and whispers that have been around for many years within the game of cricket."Vaughan adds: "The future will hold some pretty uncomfortable questions for the Anti-Corruption Unit at the International Cricket Council. Why has it taken a British newspaper sting to bring it out in the open? What has the ACU been doing? It has operatives working all over the world and the ACU costs the game millions. But a British newspaper story has blown it open. It is embarrassing."

The Sun has kept to its pledge not to name Southampton Football Club on its sports pages after the club banned the media from sending photographers to cover matches at its St. Mary's home ground.The paper's policy of referring to Southampton as "South Coast club" continues today in the coverage of a major sports news story about the club - the sacking of manager Alan Pardew.The Sun says today: "There is still no mention in SunSport of a once-proud South Coast club because of the ban on local and national newspaper photographers at home games by executive chairman Nicola Cortese."The club wants the media to pay for pictures taken by its own photographers.

Monday, 30 August 2010

Adrian Goldberg is standing down as editor of campaigning Birmingham blog The Stirrer as he starts a new show on Five Live.He writes on The Stirrer: "Standards of impartiality demanded by the BBC sit uneasily with the opinion mongering and partsianship required of a decent blog. It’s been a hoot, but the time has come to move on. So what next for The Stirrer? Well, that’s where you, dear reader, come in."Webmaster Andy Goff and I are happy to pass the site and/or The Forum to any individual or collective willing to maintain our best traditions of independent, campaigning journalism. We believe there’s also potential to develop The Stirrer as a community platform with a range of contributors capable of uploading their own content. If anyone’s interested, we’re willing to pass on advice, goodwill and the details of a willing team of bloggers - no strings attached."

The News of the World's scoop on the Pakistan cricket team betting scandal is the lead in The Times and Guardian today as well as being followed up by all the major broadcasters.A victory for the type of red top undercover "sting" journalism often frowned upon by the more serious newspapers and broadcasters.Stephen Glover writes in the Independent today: "It is fashionable to decry the Murdoch-owned News of the World for being vulgar and hypocritical. The paper undoubtedly took a knock when Mr Justice Eady ruled that it had infringed the privacy of Formula One boss Max Mosley as he indulged in an outlandish orgy."But the red-top has carried on with a succession of impressive "stings". Yesterday's story that members of the Pakistan cricket team have allegedly delivered "no-balls" in return for cash payments is its most influential for a long time, and led BBC news bulletins for many hours. It was even sorrowfully mentioned by the vicar at a church service I attended. If true, the story is profoundly depressing to all cricket-lovers, but most will be grateful that the News of the World had the courage and ingenuity to publish it. Is there another newspaper in this country that would have done so?"

Saturday, 28 August 2010

A Cabinet minister is ready to take legal action to halt a series of increasingly lurid but baseless rumours sweeping Westminster over his sexuality, the Daily Telegraph claims today in a front page story which appears to be a warning to the media to lay off the story.The paper says the minister, who is married, has been accused of having an affair with a Whitehall official and of having a long-term relationship with a journalist. "He has strongly denied the allegations. Senior Downing Street aides are braced this weekend for “suggestive” reports to begin surfacing over the Cabinet minister’s private life. Friends of the minister have warned that he will not hesitate to take “action” should unfounded allegations that he is homosexual, which are circulating on the internet, appear in mainstream media, " the Telegraph says.It is not clear whether this action would take the form of an injunction or a threat to sue following publication. “He is happily married and is not gay, it is as simple as that,” one source tells the Telegraph. “He will not hesitate before taking the necessary action should someone overstep the mark and suggest something which is not true.”

The warning came as Crispin Blunt, the prisons minister, announced that he was separating from his wife to allow him to “come to terms with his homosexuality”. He has appealed for his family’s privacy to be respected.

Friday, 27 August 2010

America's national newspaper USA Today has launched a major restructuring of its newsroom management and staff - which will include about 130 layoffs - with the goal of becoming a "mobile-first" organisation, Editor & Publisher reports.E&P says that the 28-year-old structure of reporters and managing editors working in the Gannett-owned paper's four sections -- News, Sports, Money and Life – is being replaced by “content rings”.USA Today publisher David Hunke told The Associated Press that the changes later this year would include about 130 more layoffs, or about 9% of the staff of 1,500."This is pretty radical," Hunke told the AP. "This gets us ready for our next quarter century."USA Today’s announcement said the restructuring “reflects USA Today’s evolution from a newspaper company to a multi-platform media company” of print, digital and mobile. But in an internal presentation, the emphasis appeared to be on mobile, E&P reported."We have to go where the audience is," editor John Hillkirk told AP. "If people are hitting the iPad like crazy, or the iPhone or other mobile devices, we've got to be there with the content they want, when they want it."

According to the Gannett Blog, circulation of USA Today has fallen 14% from a year ago, knocking the paper down to the No. 2 position after The Wall Street Journal, now owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Murdoch is embarking on an ambitious plan for a new national digital newspaper in the US to be distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as iPads and mobile phones, the Los Angeles Times has reported. It said the initiative would directly compete with the New York Times, USA Today and other national publications in the US.

Yesterday the Sun promised a column from Lola the cat who was dumped in a wheelie bin by Mary Bale.Today Lola contributes a "My View" to the paper but unfortunately there are no words - just a cat's eye view of what its like to be inside a wheelie bin.As for Mary, she has already been tagged the "Moggie mauler", the "Purrminator" and the "Shame-faced cat dumper" by the Sun. Today she's "Cat chucker Mary..."

Lord Lester interviewed in the Independent:"Evidence clearly shows that the present law of libel has a serious chilling effect on freedom of speech, not only of the press but of any citizen critic, including non-governmental organisations. You need a law which is the friend of free speech and not the enemy of free speech. The present law I think is the enemy of free speech in some respects."

The Daily Mail revealing a second England player has won an injunction gagging reports about his private life: "The latest example of media censorship will reignite the row over judge-made privacy laws which have never been approved by Parliament. Instead, the orders are based on judges' personal interpretation of human rights laws. Under the strict terms of the injunctions, neither of the footballers involved in this week’s actions can be named, despite the Daily Mail knowing who they are."

Stephen Glover in the Independent: "Five years ago, I would have been horrified by the prospect of Parliament passing a privacy law because I would have assumed it would operate against the interests of a free press...Times, however, have changed. A series of rulings, many delivered by Mr Justice Eady, have so developed judge-made privacy law that judgments are being handed down all the time preventing newspapers from publishing true stories about public figures."Roy Greenslade on his MediaGuardian blog on the proposal for a privacy law: "I think newspaper editors (and Glover) have lost the plot on privacy. If McNally gets his way - and I'd be amazed if he did - then journalists will rue the day they supported parliament's enactment of a privacy law. Never has the phrase "be careful what you wish for" had more resonance."

Paul Lewis on his decision to stay at the Guardian, rather than move to The Times, to head up a new multimedia special projects team: "I'm delighted to be staying at the Guardian in this exciting new role, which offers the irresistible opportunity to drive forward innovative multimedia reporting of real depth and engagement."

Peter Robins blogs on MediaGuardian on the decline of regional newspaper sales: "Over the past 20 years, some of Britain's regional daily newspapers have lost just under half their sales. Those are the successful ones."Steve Dyson on his blog steps up his campaign for sex ads to be banned by regional newspapers: "Even if unofficial conversations from vice squads at a local level have taken place and have indicated a preference for a 'blind eye' to further investigations, is that really the reason why some newspaper groups are agreeing to illegally help vulnerable women sell sex? Or is it more of a dirty excuse for continuing a torrid affair that some bosses want to continue because it's worth a large wad of banknotes, albeit somewhat soiled? Because I just don't believe that the ads would be continuing if they weren't worth it to the bottom line of these companies."

Liz Hoggard in the Independent on the cat dumped in a wheelie bin story: "So where do you stand on Catgate? Should Mary Bale, the Coventry woman who threw four-year-old tabby Lola into a wheelie bin, be strung up? Sectioned? Forced to make a public apology on YouTube (the modern equivalent of the medieval stocks). Or is the public outcry – Bale has received death threats – a massive over-reaction?"

Thursday, 26 August 2010

An England footballer has won a continuation of a High Court gagging order preventing the "misuse" of private information about him, the BBC reported today.An injunction blocking publication of allegations about his private life was originally granted to the sportsman on 19 August.The move came shortly after another England international player was granted a similar court order. The terms of the orders prohibit either of the footballers from being named. The latest ruling was made by Mr Justice Kenneth Parker, sitting in London.The BBC says that before the proceedings went into private session, Hugh Tomlinson QC, for the footballer, stressed it was not a so-called super-injunction - one which even prevents publication of the fact an injunction has been granted.He said: "It is an injunction which does not seek to conceal its own identity, but seeks to conceal the identity of the claimant and the defendant because it is an injunction which relates to private information."

Lord Lester who is proposing a Defamation Bill which would reform Britain's libel laws tells the Independent today that the way they are presently framed "is the enemy of free speech."In an interview with Ian Burrell, Lord Lester says: "Evidence clearly shows that the present law of libel has a serious chilling effect on freedom of speech, not only of the press but of any citizen critic, including non-governmental organisations. You need a law which is the friend of free speech and not the enemy of free speech. The present law I think is the enemy of free speech in some respects." He cites as an example the case of Caroline Workman, a food critic for the Irish News in Belfast, who gave up her career after a court awarded £25,000 damages and £100,000 costs to an Italian restaurant she had reviewed. "She was put in the witness box for four days and really put through the wringer," says Lord Lester, "the damage done to her was catastrophic".Lord Lester emphasises that the Bill is not just for the media and adds: "I believe the press is the eyes and ears of the public and is a profession, not only a business. But if the press wants to have the defences in my Bill it needs to act professionally."

Lord Lester has published a Private Member's Defamation Bill which would reform libel law. It's main points are:

Introduce a statutory defence of responsible publication on a matter of public interest;

Clarify the defences of justification and fair comment, renamed as ‘truth’ and ‘honest opinion’;

Respond to the problems of the internet age, including multiple publications and the responsibility of Internet Service Providers and hosters;

Protect those reporting on proceedings in parliament and other issues of public concern;

Require claimants to show substantial harm, and corporate bodies to show financial loss;

Encourage the speedy settlement of disputes without recourse to costly litigation.

Mary Bale would probably like a new identity now she is a national hate figure after being captured on CCTV dumping a pet cat in a wheelie bin.Today the Sunhas given Mary a new name - "Purrminator" and described her as "Shame-faced cat dumper Mary." Yesterday the Sun called her "Moggie mauler Mary."

Lola, the cat dumped in the wheelie bin, has been busy. Tomorrow her column appears in the Sun, proving the silly season is not over yet.

TIME magazine has named guardian.co.uk as one of its Top 50 best websites.TIME says: "It seems no other dead-tree newspaper has embraced the digital era as fully as the Guardian. Not only does the British newspaper offer smart, comprehensive coverage via one of the best-designed newspaper websites in the world but it has also developed an amazing set of mobile applications that help propel the content out across various platforms."But what's perhaps most unusual is that even as other British newspapers have taken their content behind paywalls, the Guardian has opened up its content as much as possible, offering free access to more than 1 million archived articles and providing developers with the tools to build applications that remix the paper's extensive content base."Other news and information sites that make the TIME Top 50 are The Onion, The Daily Beast, National Geographic and WikiLeaks.

Wednesday, 25 August 2010

This is getting a bit scary. Hold theFrontPage reports the latest regional newspaper ABC figures showing circulation falls across the board.Among the dailies, the Liverpool Daily Post is down 28% to 8,389 following its repositioning as a business title. The Cambridge Evening News is down 11.9%, taking its sales to 21,997. The Western Daily Press is down 11.8 per cent at 31,809 and the Nottingham Evening Post down 11.3 % to 42,529. The Journal, Newcastle, is also down 11.3 per cent - to 28,232.Double digit falls are also recorded by the Oldham Chronicle, The Press in York, the Glasgow Evening Times, the Chronicle, Newcastle, The Western Mail, and the South Wales Echo.I am sure regional newspapers can point to increased audiences for their websites, but double digit declines for dailiessuggests that in future more titles will have to follow the Birmingham Post and Bath Chronicle by going weekly.

Press Gazettesays there has been some improvement for the dailies, noting the pace of decline has slowed since the depths of the recession a year ago. For example, the Liverpool Echo has improved from a 10.14 per cent drop a year ago to a 3.2 per cent drop this time around.

MediaGuardian has a blog by Peter Robins on the decline of regional newspaper sales over the past 20 years. He writes: "Over the past 20 years, some of Britain's regional daily newspapers have lost just under half their sales. Those are the successful ones."

A British journalist has won a High Court libel action in Austria over claims he made up interviews for a book.

Michael Leidig, who owns and runs the news agency Central European News Ltd and is vice chairman of the National Association of Press Agencies, wrote the book about Austrian girl Natascha Kampusch. She was kidnapped on the way to school at the age of 10 and kept locked in a cellar for 8 years. Her kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil killed himself under the wheels of a train after she escaped and Leidig’s book – Girl in the Cellar - was published at the end of November 2006.The court action involved a press release sent out by Rupert Leutgeb, who was a PR advisor to the girl’s family, alleging that the book contained interviews which were made up.Now the Austrian High Court, has ruled three interviews alleged to have been made up had taken place. The court said: "It is obvious that the defendant's allegations and reports seriously damaged the reputation of the plaintiff and constricted his work as a serious journalist.The court ordered that the PR advisor fund the cost of organising retractions in all the publications that carried the untrue allegations - and also to pay costs and damages to Leidig."

The Sun is keeping to its vow to ban Southampton Football Club from its pages as long as the club continues to ban the media from sending their own photographers to the Saints St. Mary's ground. Instead, the club wants to sell pictures taken by its own photographers.Today, the Sun again refers to Southampton as "South Coast Club" in its match report of the game against Bolton last night, both online and in the paper.

Johnston Press today reported its first operating profit increase since 2006. In the first half, for the 26 weeks to 3 July, the group achieved an operating profit before non-recurring items of £40.5m - up from £38.2m in the prior year.John Fry, chief executive officer of Johnston Press, said: "As we move into the second half of the year, we have seen the improving trend in advertising revenues continue with total advertising in the first six weeks on a like-for-like basis only down 3.7%."Within this performance digital revenues grew by 9.7%. Circulation revenues in July have also performed well and are down only 1.6%. These industry leading trends which demonstrate the strength of our publishing portfolio along with our continued focus on costs, efficiencies and debt reduction, give the Board confidence, in the absence of a further deterioration in the UK economy, that the outcome for the Group in 2010 will be in line with current market expectations.”The company statement says: "While total revenues have continued to fall, the rate of decline has reduced considerably from 25.4% a year ago to 5.2% in the first half of this year. This, when combined with a cost base that continues to reduce, has enabled the Group to return to operating profit growth."

It adds: "Cost reductions have continued with full time equivalent headcount down from 5,640 at the start of the period to 5,417 at 3 July 2010, primarily through improving processes and investing in industry leading systems. These processes and systems have enabled an improvement in service for our customers as well as a reduction in costs."Most notable in the first half is the continued roll-out of our editorial system from one that was print based with digital elements developed in-house to a purchased editorial/content management system."This creates a single view of our editorial content and positions the Group to deliver this content via print, internet and mobile channels without the high level of rework the previous systems required. Around 80% of our editorial staff now use the improved system which will be rolled out to the rest of the Group during the second half of this year."

I love the way tabloid papers add a punchy description before the name of someone in the news. For example "Lanky love cheat Peter Crouch." Today the Sun describes the woman who outraged animal lovers by dumping a pet cat in a wheelie bin as "MOGGIE mauler Mary Bale.."

Former Birmingham Mail editor Steve Dyson is stepping up his campaign for sex ads to be banned by regional newspapers.Writing today on his blog, hosted by HoldtheFrontPage, Dyson challenges the claim by the Newspaper Society that the police don't want the sex ads banned. The NS was quoted by journalism.co.uk, on the question of banning ads,stating "some newspapers are being actively discouraged from doing this by their local police forces to avoid driving this underground".Dyson asks: "Are they? Does anyone out there have any actual example – not just hearsay – of a police force asking a newspaper to continue printing adverts that it suspects are for sexual services? And if newspapers are knowingly doing that, are they not aiding and abetting solicitation? Or has this request gone higher, with the group boardrooms at Northcliffe, Johnston Press, Trinity Mirror et al considering and granting official requests from senior boys in blue? I don't think so."But even if unofficial conversations from vice squads at a local level have taken place and have indicated a preference for a 'blind eye' to further investigations, is that really the reason why some newspaper groups are agreeing to illegally help vulnerable women sell sex? Or is it more of a dirty excuse for continuing a torrid affair that some bosses want to continue because it's worth a large wad of banknotes, albeit somewhat soiled? Because I just don't believe that the ads would be continuing if they weren't worth it to the bottom line of these companies."Dyson suggests the Surrey Mirror and Leatherhead Advertiser should set an investigative reporter onto some of the sex adverts that appear in their newspapers.He also says that from now on all the newspapers he reviews on his blog will carry a 'sex ad rating'.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

The Guardian has persuaded Paul Lewis, one of the paper's rising stars, to stay in a new role rather than leave for The Times.The award-winning reporter will head up a newly-created multimedia special projects team for the Guardian, it was announced today. Lewis was due to join The Times in September as a special correspondent.The Guardian says that Dan Roberts, who takes over as the Guardian's national news editor next month, will work with Lewis to recruit a small team finding new angles on breaking news stories, including using multimedia and crowdsourcing.Lewis used these techniques in his investigation into the details of the death of Ian Tomlinson at the 2009 G20 protest in London, for which he won reporter of the year at the British Press Awards in March and the Tony Bevins Rat Up a Drain Pipe award for outstanding investigative journalism.

The NUJ says the Police Service of Northern Ireland has returned the mobile phone seized on Thursday 19th August from Derry freelance journalist Eamonn MacDermott and have advised him that they have accessed his phone records.NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said the NUJ would support Mr MacDermott's right to protect confidential sources in the event of any future court case. Pointing out that in the Suzanne Breen case the court had recognised the real threat posed to her life if she was forced to hand over confidential information.He said: "The same principles apply in this case. Just as the information contained in her notes was already available to the PSNI in this case the police have advised Eamonn MacDermott that they have accessed his records."

Neil Thackray and Rory Brown are launching a new business media company trading as Briefing Media Ltd. which promises a new approach to serving business to business markets.Thackray, a former chief executive of Quantum Business Media which published Media Week and Press Gazette, says in a posting on his blog: "Between us we have extensive experience of managing business to business media companies and we have co-operated over the last few months to build a new approach and a new kind of business media company."Rory Brown was managing director of the interactive marketing division of Incisive Media.Thackray writes that Briefing Media will identify the best specialist sources of information, whether they be written by journalists, experts, bloggers or even industry suppliers. "We believe that although original content commissioned by Briefing Media will be very valuable, there is much else published by others which is useful too. We are happy to point our users to third party content sources as well as our own. We think a successful business media company is not only about reading words."In each vertical we operate in we will add services including, training, conferencing , networking, consultancy and research. We will publish our own white papers, act as a shop window for white papers and research published by third parties, help decision makers identify and be informed about the key topics in their industry."He concludes: "You probably want to have a look at our first site – but you will have to be patient for a month or so. We expect to release our first vertical towards the end of September and have already identified six more to develop over the coming months."

Manchester United will pay £60,000 in fines for manager Alex Ferguson as he carries on his ban of speaking to the BBC, the Sun reports today.New Premier League rules say all club managers must talk to the BBC after games or will be fined, with the scale of punishments increasing for repeat offenders.The Sun says the first fine is £1,000 but this rises each time with the cost hitting around £60,000 for the full season.Ferguson has not spoken to the BBC since it broadcast a 2004 documentary about his son Jason's work as an agent.

Monday, 23 August 2010

Tobias Grubbe, the creation of Michael Cross and Matthew Buck, gives his opinions today on the giant rats, as featured by the Sun, and the unmasking of the Stig, by the Sunday Times, on telegraph.co.uk.

Friday, 20 August 2010

Former journalism.co.uk journalist Judith Townend (left) is conducting a short survey of UK-based online publishers, bloggers and writers looking at the legal climate in which they operate.The survey will form part of Judith's MA project at London's City University looking at independent online publishers and the law. You can find the survey questions here.Results will be anonymised (unless additional permission is given to share specific details) in a City University London MA dissertation and online.Judith says: "I'm really intrigued to find out how independent publishers and writers handle the legal side of things. Who do they consult when there's no night lawyer on hand? Have they actually come up against legal threats? There's already been a good response to my survey so far and I'd like to gather more data to make my final analysis stronger. It's only the beginning of my research into legal restraints for journalists and bloggers, but I can see there's a real interest and hunger for information in this area."

Another England footballer has won a draconian injunction to gag the media from reporting revelations about his private life - the second in a week, the Daily Mail reports today.The Mail reports: "The multi-millionaire, who cannot be named, is a father in a long-term relationship. He won the restrictive order last night banning a woman from publicising personal details about him."A similar injunction was granted to another England international footballer last week after he discovered a Sunday tabloid was planning to run a story about his private life.The Mail comments: "The latest example of media censorship will reignite the row over judge-made privacy laws which have never been approved by Parliament. Instead, the orders are based on judges' personal interpretation of human rights laws."Under the strict terms of the injunctions, neither of the footballers involved in this week’s actions can be named, despite the Daily Mail knowing who they are. Both orders were granted at the High Court in London by Mr Justice Nicol, on the grounds that the revelations would breach the footballers’ ‘right to a private and family life".Breaching such an order could result in criminal prosecution for contempt of court.

The NUJ has expressed alarm at the actions of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in confiscating a mobile phone belonging to Derry-based freelance journalist Eamonn MacDermott.Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley said the decision to confiscate the phone represents a threat to the confidentiality of journalistic sources and was viewed with concern by journalists throughout Ireland and the UK.NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear condemned the PSNI move. In a statement he said: "Eamonn MacDermott is an established freelance journalist working in Northern Ireland, covering sensitive stories and with a wide range of contacts. The seizure of his phone and the accessing of his phone records by the police is another attack on the right of journalist to operate in Northern Ireland."The right to protect confidential sources of information is compromised when police act in this way and we take this action very seriously. Just as we supported the right of Suzanne Breen to protect her sources we protect the right of Eamonn MacDermott."

massacre n. The act or an instance of killing a large number of humans indiscriminately and cruelly. Or in Sunspeak Posh and Becks dismiss 14 staff to save cash. I wonder if the word 'massacre' will be applied by the Sun when all the public service workers get the boot.

Katie Price asked by the Guardian if she has read her own books: "What, my autobiographies? No, cos I know what's in them."

Peter Preston in the Observer: "A truly local paper is like a policeman on his beat (or that family doctor). It's what helps local life go around. It opens a world of possibilities. And – golly! – it's more important than 30% profit margins. Or, at least, it damned well should be."Patrick Smith on his blog remembers when the Tameside Advertiser had its own local office: "What instantly hit you then about that office – and about every local/regional newspaper operation I’ve seen or worked on – was the connection people felt towards the title. The sense of ownership created a strange mixture of pride and anger when reporters didn’t get something right or were chasing the 'wrong' story. The office front desk secretary would have to deal with queues of people with delivery problems; mothers and grandads asking for re-prints of pictures of smiling brothers and nieces who appeared in the news pages last week, or people with 'a cracking story' about fences or dogshit who demanded to see a reporter right now. All that is gone."Stephen Glover in the Independent: "Most of us probably have little interest in Mr Montgomerie's private life. Not being a golfer, I have no interest in him whatsoever. What is disquieting is the principle. The idea that a judge such as Mr Justice Eady can issue a 'gagging order' whose very existence cannot even be reported should be disturbing to anyone who believes in a free press."

Roy Greenslade on his MediaGuardian blog about Rupert Murdoch: "Even though I have taken issue with the level of editorial control Murdoch has exercised, I cannot deny a major lesson of press history: single-minded, opinionated, determined entrepreneurs have always been the driving force behind successful newspapers. We may criticise them on the grounds of their threat to press freedom. But then we have to ask: would there be a press without them? Would there be, without Murdoch, The Times in London, the New York Post or The Australian?"

Reporters Without Borders clarifies its crticism of WikiLeaks for publishing the Afghan War Logs: "We reaffirm our support for Wikileaks, its work and its founding principles. It is thanks in large part to Wikileaks that the world has seen the failures of the wars waged by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also thanks to Wikileaks that we have seen how the US army deliberately targeted a Reuters crew in Baghdad in July 2007."Andrew Sullivan in the Sunday Times on Christopher Hitchens: "Friendship, in the end, is about the lack of any desire to change another person. It is about loving him as he is. And in that love there is the only human redemption and, in my view, the true intimation of the divine. That love, I feel sure, will survive him. And me. For it is connected to something greater than both of us."

Keith Hodgkinson in a letter to the Guardian:"It seems that even the weather maps are political these days. In the Telegraph the rain falls to the right, while in the Guardian it goes to the left."

Thursday, 19 August 2010

BBC staff mag Ariel has been hit by the production gremlins with a missing headline on a letter complaining about the amount of coverage supermodel Naomi Campbell generated by her appearance at the Charles Taylor War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Well, at least Ariel didn't mention the celebrity supermodel in the headline.

A group of journalists who used to work for the Iranian English-language news channel PressTV have written a letter to The Times calling for the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for alleged adultery.Their letter says:"Sir, We are journalists who worked for Press TV, Iran’s English-language news channel. We support the peoples of Iran and their right to determine the country’s future, free of foreign pressure or intervention. However, we are distressed by the uncertainty over the fate of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for alleged adultery. We believe that, almost certainly, her conviction failed to meet Iran’s Islamic evidential requirements. We also regret the intimidatory acts committed against Ms Ashtiani’s lawyer and his family (report, Aug 9).We appeal to Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani to order the rapid release of Ms Ashtiani, who has already served five years in prison and received 99 lashes. We also ask him to protect defence lawyers from state harassment and to curb the excesses of those prosecutors who either ignore or flagrantly abuse basic principles of Islamic law."

WikiLeaks has launched ThaiLeaks to get round the ban imposed on the whistleblowing website by the Thai government.WikiLeaks said today: "For unknown reasons the Thai Government has closed access to the Wikileaks website. This means that Thai internauts and webizens are not allowed to take part in the current netbased movement of freedom. This is not acceptable, anywhere in the world."Therefore we make all Thai-related content from the Wikileaks website available for direct download. We will continue doing this for every country that blocks essential internet infrastructure. The internet is an intricate system of tunnels, we will dig a hole in every national firewall."WikiLeaks adds: "This is not about disrespecting the Thai State or the Royal family. It is about making a statement for the freedom of information."

St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street will be holding a service in November to commemorate all the UK journalists, cameramen and support staff who have died while reporting from the war zones and conflicts of the 21st Century.If you have any information about journalists or support staff who should be included, please contact Fran Yeoman at admin@stbrides.com or by phone on 020 7427 0133.Via the Newspaper Society

Thai authorities have used emergency powers to block the WikiLeaks website on security grounds, claiming it could lead to further unrest, the Telegraph reports today.It quotes a spokesman from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology stating: “Access to this website has been temporarily suspended under the 2005 emergency decree.” The ICT said it has blocked 1,340 websites on security grounds since emergency rule began in April.

A reader has answered the question put in the Independent's splash headline on Monday: "Who would want to be 18 today?"Peter Newton, of Honington, Suffolk, responds on the Independent's letters pages: "Who would want to be 18 today?" (16 August) the answer is "I would!" If you had been 18 in 1942, as I was, you would not even think of asking such a question. Cannot you sometimes be a bit more positive?"

Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Press freedom campaign group Reporters Without Borders has issued "a clarification" after its condemnation of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as "incredibly irresponsible" over the publishing of the Afghan War Logs.RWB published an open letter which accused Assange of "endangering the future of the internet as an information medium." Now RWB has reaffirmed its support for WikiLeaks and says its crticism should not be used as a call for censorship or support for the war in Afghanistan.The clarification says: "There has been a great deal of controversy about the Wikileaks website’s decision to post thousands of leaked reports that include the names of Afghan civilians who have collaborated with the international military coalition in Afghanistan. The controversy has grown even more since Reporters Without Borders and other NGOs criticised a lack of responsibility on the part of Wikileaks. As hate messages and unfair accusations proliferate in the online newspapers that reported this criticism, Reporters Without Borders would like to caution against any attempts to put words in its mouth."We reaffirm our support for Wikileaks, its work and its founding principles. It is thanks in large part to Wikileaks that the world has seen the failures of the wars waged by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also thanks to Wikileaks that we have seen how the US army deliberately targeted a Reuters crew in Baghdad in July 2007. The video of this tragedy has been posted on our website ever since it was leaked."The controversy has resulted in a real threat to the website of closure in the United States and targeted persecution of its contributors. The US authorities would be very mistaken if they tried to use our criticism as support for a decision to silence Wikileaks. The Obama administration made a serious mistake when it broke its promise to reveal the human, moral and financial cost of the “war against terror” launched by President George W. Bush. Wikileaks has rightly defied this blockade on access to information."Raising the question, as we did, of the danger of releasing certain sensitive data does not in any way constitute incitement to censorship or, less still, support for the war. Should we be blamed for pointing out that the information provided by Wikileaks could be used by the Taliban and could serve as grounds for reprisals? Is it contrary to a humanitarian organisation’s vocation to draw attention to the possible impact on human lives of high-risk information? Is it wrong to point out that Wikileaks’ recent actions could backfire not only on itself but also on the independent researchers and journalists who cover these subjects online?"A media is responsible for what it publishes or disseminates. To remind it of that is not to wish its disappearance. Quite the contrary. Editorial responsibility, like freedom of expression, to which it is linked, cannot be reduced to mere partisan or ideological interests. To accuse Wikileaks’ critics of being “Pentagon accomplices” distorts and pre-empts any discussion about the work of the media and media ethics. The principle of free expression is indivisible, as is the careful observation of the media that it requires."

September 1 has been set as the opening trial date for 17 men accused of murder and other crimes in the killing of 57 people - 32 of them journalists or media workers--in southern Philippines in November 2009, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports.Quezon City Regional Trial Court Justice Jocelyn Solis-Reyes set the date in a pre-trial hearing in the Manila suburb of Taguig City, in a secure courtroom at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. The venue for the cases had been moved from Maguindanao province in the Philippines' southernmost island of Mindanao to the jurisdiction of the Quezon City court in Manila to ensure a fair trial.Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator, who attended the pre-trial hearing, said:"It is encouraging to see the trial for the Maguindanao massacre move ahead quickly. Because of the scope of the killings and the complexity of the case authorities must work hard to maintain the momentum. President Aquino's government must make sure that all sides stay focused on a fast but fair trial, and strive to bring the people who plotted these killings--not just the triggermen--to justice."

Britain could get its first privacy law through Parliament to stop judges creating one via the courts, the Daily Telegraph reports today.In an interview with the Telegraph, Lord McNally, a Liberal Democrat minister in the Ministry of Justice, suggests that the right to privacy could be enshrined in law after a number of celebrities and sports stars were awarded “super-injunctions” to gag the press.Lord McNally said: “There has been a general consensus that a new piece of legislation that clarifies, consolidates and removes some of the more dangerous aspects of the way case law has grown up is something that is desirable.”He also told the Telegraph: “There was a danger that we were getting towards having privacy law by judicial decision. If we are going to have a privacy law it should be openly debated and freely decided by Parliament."Lord McNally said super-injunctions were “something that has grown up by stealth, rather than by considered desire of Parliament and therefore they will be in the sights when they look at the reform of the law”.

The Telegraph is cautious on a privacy law, noting: "Campaigners for freedom of speech will fear that any new privacy law could frustrate investigations by journalists that are clearly in the public interest, such as the Daily Telegraph’s inquiry last year into MPs’ expenses."

Monday, 16 August 2010

Poignant post and picture by Patrick Smith on his blog about the closure of the office of the Tameside Advertiser in Greater Manchester.The Advertiser itself has not closed but staff have been moved to Manchester city centre along with other weeklies owned by MEN Media, now part of Trinity Mirror.Patrick remembers being on work experience in the Advertiser office as an 18-year-old. He writes: "What instantly hit you then about that office – and about every local/regional newspaper operation I’ve seen or worked on – was the connection people felt towards the title. The sense of ownership created a strange mixture of pride and anger when reporters didn’t get something right or were chasing the 'wrong' story."The office front desk secretary would have to deal with queues of people with delivery problems; mothers and grandads asking for re-prints of pictures of smiling brothers and nieces who appeared in the news pages last week, or people with 'a cracking story' about fences or dogshit who demanded to see a reporter right now. All that is gone."The paper now runs 'surgeries' in Ashton once a week. But it pales in comparison to days when almost every one of Tameside’s nine towns had its own reporter, who cared about his or her patch and knew the people who knew what was going on."Patrick is by no means a Luddite. In fact he is an evangelist for new media. He adds: "I’m a digital believer: I think the growth of online news publishing will eventually replace and maybe even improve on what local and regional news consumers currently enjoy – with added multimedia audio/video and an interactive, participatory element to newsgathering that has simply never been possible until now."Patrick welcomes the way Trinity in Birmingham is taking part in a new hyperlocal intitiative with the best of the city's local online journalists but adds that while hyperlocal sites may be the future: "The present for the people of Ashton is a boarded up office, journalists based seven miles away and fewer of them being paid to care what happens to real people."

I think Patrick's blog reflects a comment on the local press in the Observer at the weekend by Peter Preston, who wrote: "A truly local paper is like a policeman on his beat (or that family doctor). It's what helps local life go around. It opens a world of possibilities. And – golly! – it's more important than 30% profit margins. Or, at least, it damned well should be."

About Me

I am a freelance journalist based in the UK and was deputy editor of Press Gazette, the journalists' magazine, from 1993 until 2006. I want to give an independent view on media matters.
You can contact me with stories, ideas and comments by email at jon.slattery369@btinternet.com You can also follow me on Twitter @jonslattery